Sewing machine



Aug. 1., 1944'. c. STURZLIDJGER 2,354,783

SEWING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l w INVENTOR Aug. 1,1944. c. STURZLINGER I 2,354,783

SEWING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1940 5 Shets-Sh'ee't 2 Aug. 1, 1944.

' STURZLINGER SEWING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 R N R JW 0 N w l A M YW Patented Aug. 1, 1944 Charles Sturzlinger, New York, N. Y., assignor to K & P Fancy Stitching Machine 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 3, 1940, Serial No. 338,497

Claims.

The present invention relates to sewing machines, and more particularly to sewing machines for commercial use having two or more needles operated by the same sewing machine head.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will 7 r be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims. 7

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a sewing machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the sewing machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top elevation of the sewing machine shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 4

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the needle holding different stitches with a minimum of changes.v

Another object is to provide a multiple needle sewing machine with means for independently imparting different reciprocal lateral movements to the individual needles without interfering with the customary vertical reciprocating movement of the needles or diverting them at any time from their vertical position with respect to the cloth. Another object is to provide means for independently varying the amplitude of the individual lateral stroke of either needle.

In accordance with the present invention a standard commercial sewing machine head is provided with a plurality of needles mounted for independent lateral sliding movement on the needle bar, and the lateral movement of each needle is independently determined by a cam disc which rotates when the machine is in operation. Means are provided between the cam discs and the needlesfor imparting individual lateral reciprocating motion to the needles from the rotation of the cam discs.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail tothe illustrative embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, the sewing machine comprises the base l0 and the arm ll. Positioned within the arm is the main driving shaft M for imparting reciprocating vertical movement to needle bar H3 in the customary manner well known to the art. Mounted on shaft l4 and rotating therewith is the worm 18 which drives gear 28 to rotate shaft 2| and thus provide for the actuation of the needle oscillating means as hereinafterdescribed. v I I As shown in Fig. 8, fixedly mounted on the end of shaft 2| by pin 22 is flange 23 to receive cam discs 21 and 28 having cam grooves 29 and 3D in their respective outer faces, and these disc's are caused to rotate together and with flange 23 by screw 32 which passes through the discs and is threaded into the flange.

As shown in Fig. 2, lever arm 34 is pivotally mounted on shaft 35 extending from the machine arm II, and carries at one extremity thereof roller 38 moving in groove '29 of the outer cam disc 21, while lever'arm 40 is similarly mounted and carries roller 42 moving in groove 30 of the inner cam disc 28.

With the construction shown it will be 'ap' parent that as cam discs 21 and 28 are rotated, pivotal motion will be imparted to lever arms 34 and 40 respectively when the grooves in the cams are of an irregular. or eccentric shape, and that these motions will be determined by the particu- ,lar shape of the grooves used in the cam discs. In accordance with the present invention means are provided for utilizing the predetermined pivotal motion of the lever arms 34 and into impart independent reciprocating lateral movements to the needles of the sewing machine, and for this purpose housing 44 is mounted on the needle bar end of the arm ll of the sewing machine and directly above the needles and foot, as

shown in Fig. 2. Rotatively mounted within housing 44 on shafts 46 are the worm gears 48 and 5D, and a bearing is provided between the gears to allow for their independent relative rotation, such as the shaft extension 52 of gear 48 positioned within the cylindrical extension 54 of gear 50. a In order to rotate gears 48 and ,50 by movement of the lever arms 40 and 34'respectively, arcuate arms 56 are fixedly mounted on the outer ends of shafts 46, and are attached to the lever arms by links 58, said links each be- The attachment of said links-58 members 10 toward or away from housing 44, V

being attached to said members by bars 12. their other ends members 10 are adjustably attached at right angles to shafts 14, and from these'shafts depend the push members 16;

Referring now to Figs. 6 and '7, mounted on the lower end of needle bar I6 is the carrier plate 18. Said plate is of an invertedL-shape and has needle holders 80 and 82 slidably mounted for relatively independent lateral motion on the inner surface of its depending arm. Compression spring 84 is positioned between the needle holders 80 and 82 and tends to force the holders away from each other and to keep their outer ends at all times against the inner side surfaces of push members 16. The holders-have slidin contact at 11 times with sai ush m m- I g a d p e holder, and a straight line of stitching would rebers when the machine .is in operation and the needle bar is engaged in reciprocating vertical motion. 7

From the foregoing description it will beapparent that the embodiment disclosed will in practice produce an infinite Variety of double row stitches, and that the mechanism used is at the same time highly efllcient and relatively simple in construction, and. maybe utilized with the standard commercial sewing machine head with a very small number of minor changes. The lateral movements of the individual needle holders 80 and 82 upon the carrier plate'l8 are entirely independent of each other, so that the particular character and design of the individual rows of'stitching may be determined, and any two such designs combined on the'same piece of cloth to give the desired effect. Thus reciprocating lateral movement will be imparted to needle holder 82 from the movement of rack 68 as it is propelled back' and forth within the housing 44 by its worm 5 0 as the latter rotates first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. This rotation of worm is brought about by the pivotal action of lever arm 40 as it follows groove 38 in the cam disc 28 when the cam discs are rotated. Similarly, lever arm 34 will be reciprocably pivoted as it follows groove 29 in the cam disc 21, and Worm gear 48 will then be rotated first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, sliding rack 66 back and forth within the housing 44, to impart a reciprocating lateral motion to needle holder 80.

'It will be apparent that by varying the shape of the groove in the cam disc, various designs of stitches will be produced from the particular needle with which the cam disc is operatively connected, and that by the independent choice of the design of the single rows of stitching, the desired effect may be had in the double row of stitching upon the cloth. Thus, if cam grooves 29 and 30, are of similar configuration and the cam discs 21 and 28 are attached for rotation upon shaft 2| with their grooves in similar relationship to said shaft, a double row of stitching such as that shown in Fig. 9 may be produced. The outer cam disc 21 may be removed, rotated independently through an angle of 90 with respect to cam' disc 28, and again affixed to the latter disc and flange 23 by slipping screw 32 through the holes provided for that purpose in the cam discs and threading it into the flange. The design produced on the cloth will then be that shown in Fig. 10, the character of the individual-rows of stitching being similar but out of phase so that their position with relation to each other is varied. It may be'seen that by changing the fixed relationship of cam discs 21 and 28 before stitching is begun through greater or less angles than 90, a great number of different finished designs upon the cloth may be produced from the same pair of cam discs.

It will be appreciated that the grooves in the two cam discs may be of dissimilar configuration and a still larger number of different designs will be produced with the same machine, Thus, as shown in Fig. 10, the individual rows of stitching may be wholly different. The particular design there shown would be produced by using one cam disc with an eccentric groove of the proper shape to make the row of alternating points and arcs, while the groove in the other disc would be of a perfectly circular shape, causing nolateral reciprocating motion in its corresponding needle sult. Thus it may be seenthat by a choice of groove outlines for the individual cams of completely dissimilar configuration, the laterally reciprocating movement of the individual needle holders will be wholly different from the other,

or, in other words, the movements will be mutually dissimilar.

The most minute adjustments may be made quickly and efficiently by the operator of the machine in the maximum amplitude of the lateral throw of each needle holder, and the maximum throw of either holder may be increased 'or diminished without disturbing the setting of the other. Thus shafts 14 carrying push members 76 extend through members 10 and are adjustably secured therein by set screws, so that the reach of shaft 14 may be easily changed. The lower ends of links 58 may be slipped along slots 62 in the arcuate arms 56 and held in'the desired position by set screws, and the maximum rotation in either direction of worm gears 48 and 50 will thus be affected. The length of links 58 may be individually adjusted, and this will likewise de termine the maximum amplitude of the lateral throw of each needle holder.

It should be noted that the desired designs are secured by use of the present invention by applying to the individual needles a lateral motion which embraces the whole needle, that the bases of the needles fixed in needle holders 80 and 82 move the same distances as the points of the needles and that thus a true reciprocating lateral motion is obtained rather than a pivotal motion of the needles. When the needle bar I6 is at the bottom of its stroke, the needles reach the same distance through the cloth regardless of the distance they may be spaced apart, and the bobbin may act to tie in the needle-threads without the danger of skipping.

While the invention has been described with considerable particularit as applied to double needle sewing machines, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is of wider application and is not limited to the particular application described nor to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, and that more than two needles, or only one needle, may be used and other changes made in the construction without departing from its scope. Reference is to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A sewing machine comprising a needle bar, driving means for imparting stitch-forming movement to said needle bar, a pair of needle holders mounted on said needle bar for independent lateral movement, a pair of racks, each rack having operative engagement with one of said needle holders and serving to actuate its needle holder in a lateral direction, each rack having a separate worm gear meshing therewith, and cam means for imparting intermittently reversing rotation separately to said worm gears.

2. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a needle holder laterally movable therein, spring means for urging the needle holder laterally in one direction, a pusher member for moving the needle holder laterally in the opposite direction, and actuating means for imparting limited lateral reciprocating movement to said pusher member comprising a laterally reciprocable rack, an oscillatable gear meshing therewith, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gear.

3. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a needle holder laterally movable therein, spring means for urging the needle holder laterally in one direction, a pusher member for moving the needle holder laterally in the opposite direction, and actuating means for imparting limited lateral reciprocating movement to said pusher member comprising a laterally reciprocable rack, an oscillatable gear meshing therewith, and cam means for imparting oscillating movement to said gear.

4. A sewing machine including in combination a drive shaft, a vertically movable carrier, a needle holder laterally movable therein, spring means for urging the needle holder laterally in one direction, a pusher member for moving the needle holder laterally in the opposite direction, and actuating means for imparting limited lateral reciprocating movement to said pusher member comprising a laterally reciprocable rack, an oscillatable gear meshing therewith, and cam means actuated by said drive shaft for imparting oscillating movement to said gear.

5. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a needle holder laterally movable therein, actuating means for imparting limited lateral reciprocating movement to said needle holder comprising a laterally reciprocable rack, an oscillatable gear meshing therewith, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gear.

6. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a pair of needle holders laterally movable therein, spring means for urging the needle holders laterally in opposite directions, pusher members for moving the needle holders laterally against said spring means, actuating means for imparting limited lateral reciprocating movement to said pusher members comprising oppositely reciprocable racks, oscillatable gears meshing therewith, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gears.

'7. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a pair of needle holders laterally movable therein, actuating means for imparting limited opposite lateral reciprocating movement to said needle holders comprising oppositely reciprocable racks, oscillatable gears meshing therewith, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gears.

8. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a pair of needle holders laterally movable therein, actuating means for imparting limited opposite lateral reciprocating movement to said needle holders comprising oppositely reciprocable racks, oscillatable gears meshing therewith, and means for impart ing oscillating movement to said gears, said means comprising separate cams and means for imparting the individual actuations of either cam to one of said gears.

9. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a pair of needleholders laterally movable therein, actuating means for imparting limited opposite lateral reciprocating movement to said needle holders comprising oppositely reciprocable racks, oscillatable gears meshing therewith, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gears, said means comprising separate cams and means for imparting the individual actuations of either cam to one of said gears, said cams being separately replaceable so as to impart independently differing pattern actuations to their respective needle holders.

10. A sewing machine including in combination a vertically movable carrier, a pair of needle holders laterally movable therein, actuating means for imparting lateral movement to said needle holders comprising a pair of laterally movable racks each having operative engagement with a needle holder and gear means engaging said racks with oppositely spiraled teeth, and means for imparting oscillating movement to said gear means.

CHARLES STURZLINGER. 

